Suzy Bemba, Khalil Gharbia and Ji-Min Park, whose credits span the spectrum from festival favorites to prestige television and commercial English-language projects, have signed on to join the previously announced Ariane Labed for “The Possessed.” The film is set in 17th-century Europe, where two women fleeing the witch hunts create a refuge at the edge of the world, until a man becomes their unwilling captive and sparks a dangerous love triangle. Story details remain under wraps, but Variety can reveal that Labed will incarnate the role of “The Midwide,” Bemba will play “The Baroness,” Garbia “The Shepherd,” and Park “The Director.” The shoot will take place in Spain, between the Barcelona area and the raw, spectacular landscapes of the Teruel region and Bardenas Reales. Based on the casting and the chemistry of early rehearsals, Sendijarević has reworked the script and will now shoot “The Possessed” in the French language.
Sendijarević commented: “I very much look forward to building a world with this remarkable group of actors, who I see as complementing one another, but also challenging each other to push into new territory. They share a fearlessness and curiosity that I find essential to this film. With Suzy Bemba, Khalil Gharbia and Ji Min Park joining Ariane Labed, I am sure that ‘The Possessed,’ my third feature film and my first in the French language, is on the path to becoming something singular.” Bemba rose to prominence with her performance as Flora in the acclaimed series “L’Opéra” and appeared in “The Return” by Catherine Corsini, screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
Her international credits include “Poor Things” by Yorgos Lanthimos as well as “Drift,” directed by Anthony Chen and starring Cynthia Erivo. She was selected as one of Unifrance’s “10 Talents to Watch,” and named a César “Revelation” and France’s representative in the European Shooting Stars program at the 2024 Berlinale. Most recently, Bemba has starred in “Le Sens des choses” for HBO Max, “A Second Life” by Laurent Slama and in “Le Joueur,” the upcoming film by Elie Wajeman, alongside Pio Marmaï.
Bemba has also been cast in the international action thriller “Cliffhanger,” alongside Pierce Brosnan and Lily James. Gharbia’s credits include BBC One drama “Two Weeks in August,” the BBC adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Towards Zero,” directed by Sam Yates, opposite Matthew Rhys and Anjelica Huston and the acclaimed Starz/Sky series “Mary & George,” alongside Julianne Moore. Gharbia’s breakout lead performance was in Zeno Graton’s “The Lost Boys,” which premiered at the Berlinale.
Like Bemba, Gharbia is likewise an alumnus of the César Academy’s annual “Revelations” selection, recognizing the most promising new acting talent in French-language cinema. Additional feature credits include François Ozon’s “Peter von Kant” and François Guerrar’s “Barbès, Little Algérie.” Park is an artist and actor born in Seoul, South Korea who lives and works in Paris. Park starred in “Return to Seoul” by Davy Chou, which played at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, and was also named among the “Revelations” at the 2024 César Awards.
That same year, she was nominated for a Lumière Award, the New Generation Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and a Best New Performer Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Further credits include Apple TV series “La Maison” and three 2025 Cannes Film Festival selections: “Love Me Tender” by Anna Cazenave Cambet, “A Private Life” by Rebecca Zlotowski and “The Little Sister” by Hafsia Herzi, which screened in competition. Park was back at Cannes in 2026, where she presented “Orange Flavored Wedding” by Christophe Honoré, and served as a member of the official jury for the Short Films and La Cinef sections.
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